Issue 126 24th November 2004
Issue 126 24th November 2004
| FROM THE HEADTEACHER
Visit by MP Mr. Mark Hoban, the shadow Education Minister, with responsibility for special educational needs, visited our Language Unit at the beginning of the month. He spent the main part of the visit talking to several of the pupils in the facility. "It is an important part of my job to actually see how children with special educational needs are catered for in mainstream schools. It was an excellent opportunity to be able to talk face to face to both the students and teachers. Inclusion in mainstream schools works well where there are specialist units such as the one at Therfield. We need good quality provision for inclusion to work." Mr. Hoban also commented that the students he spoke to were articulate and confident which is a great testament to the staff and students within the unit as most of the children find these skills difficult. Early Closure School will close at 1pm on Friday 17th December for the start of the Christmas holiday. Year 11 Revision Day A highly successful revision and study skills seminar was held for Year 11 students on Monday, 22nd November. The skills learnt will be of great benefit in their forthcoming examinations. Senior Maths Challenge On Tuesday 9th November 50 6th Form mathematicians took part in the UK Senior Maths challenge organised by the UK Maths Trust. With record numbers of students taking A level Maths this year we are expecting great results. On Tuesday 2nd November a dozen 6th Form statisticians attended the Royal Statistical Society lecture at Kingston University. The talk was given by Frank Duckworth (famous for his cricket scoring system) and was entitled 'Lies and Statistics'. National Cipher Challenge Our two talented Year 12 mathematicians Adam Francis and Richard Wilcox came 66th in the country on the most recent code-cracking task in the prestigious cipher challenge. However, even more impressively a team from Year 9 have reached 195th in the championship overall. This young team made up of Michael Page, Joe Newton and Josh Fowler, are competing with over 750 teams (mostly sixth form) nationwide. Carol Service 7.30pm Wednesday 8th December Our traditional Christmas carol service, with readings and music provided by Therfield Brass and the newly formed Gospel Choir, will take place again this year in the Parish Church of St Mary and St Nicholas, Leatherhead. Although there is no 'admission charge' for this popular event, please obtain a ticket in advance from the school office on 01372 818123 if you wish to be assured of a seat! Come and join in with your favourite carols and get into the spirit of Christmas. Seasonal refreshment will also be available in the church after the service. Sweeney Todd Tickets go on sale for our Christmas production of Sweeney Todd on Monday 29th November. Adults £5 Students £3. Health and Safety in PE Following the introduction of new health and safety guidelines for physical education, we cannot allow students to take part in PE with any piercings in at all. Covering them with a plaster is no longer sufficient and any piercings will have to be removed. If parents are contemplating having their children's ears pierced this should be carried out at the beginning of the summer holidays in order to avoid depriving their child of PE activities. Work Experience 225 year 11 students took part in work experience week from 11th to 15th October. A wide variety of employment ensured that the majority of students were placed in either their first or second preference. Jobs varied from aircraft engineering, film and television, banking and construction, with one student securing a place abroad with the British Consul in Belgrade! Students on work experience begin to understand the value of much of the work learnt in the classroom through practical application in the workplace, most especially with numeracy, information technology and communication. This helps them to focus on the skills and qualities required in today's workplace. They have the opportunity to work alongside other adults as part of a team, increasing confidence and abilities. Many students find a direction and focus at a critical time of their academic life allowing them to make more informed decisions about their future careers Students were fully debriefed on their return to school and feedback from their employers was exceptionally positive with many students being praised as the best student the employer had ever had. The majority of students found it a very rewarding and worthwhile experience even when the outcome confirmed that they definitely didn't want to pursue a particular career path! Through our work experience programme we make new links and strengthen old links with our business partners enabling us to work towards a mutually beneficial future for our community. Craft Fair A reminder of this very popular event which takes place on Sunday, 28th November. Full details Art News Look out for Year 8 Pattern work in the corridors and enter the competition! Exhibitions It was great to see some of Therfield's artwork on display in Dorking earlier this month. Clara Cuffe, Viki Matkin, Kirsty Murray and Hanna Sturman from Year 13 exhibited their work as part of the Mole Valley Young Artists annual exhibition. The exhibition was a great success and the four student's work was much admired. The Art Department is planning to exhibit many more students work in the year ahead.......... Watch this space! Scholastic Book Fair The Book Fair has been extended until Wednesday, 1 st December. Please give the students money or cheques made payable to Therfield School to purchase books. Sabah Auction of Promises Due to unforeseen circumstances the Sabah Auction of Promises, which was scheduled to run on 3rd December 2004, has been cancelled. Many apologies. Parents Prayer Group The group meets twice a term and the next meeting is on Monday 29th November at 8pm at the school. A warm welcome is extended to all. More information from Mrs Jill Poole on 01932 865476. Design & Technology The Design Technology Department has formed exciting school/industry links with production managers and engineers from Kellogg Brown and Root - a local and international engineering company. Staff from KBR will be working with Year 12 and Year 13 Graphics Products students and helping inject industrial applications into their AS and A2 coursework projects. British Nutrition Foundation Conference A group of Year 11 and Year 12 Food Technology students attended the annual BNF student conference at Imperial College on Saturday 6th' November. Current allergy/intolerance concerns the move towards organic eating, and diet and health issues were a major part of the programme. The speakers (Food Scientists, Food Technologists and Nutritionists from industry and academia) covered current challenges for the food industry such as developing products which have a lower salt content but are still acceptable to the customer, and the scientific problems associated with developing low fat ice creams. An example of how Science and Food meet, was shown in Nestlé's development of Modulen IBD, a food product which regulates the proinflammatory cytokines which are present in active Crohn's disease. This new product gives enormous relief to the sufferer. Students came away not only much more informed about current developments in the food industry, but were also stimulated to think of the enormous number of interesting and highly paid job opportunities which it provides at all levels. Belgium Battlefields 60
Year 9 students and 7 staff braved high seas before half term,
to spend two days exploring the Ypres Salient in Belgium, scene
of some of the most intense fighting of the First World War.
Students attended the moving Last Post Ceremony at the Menin
Gate, where 55,000 of the soldiers who were missing in action
are listed, and also visited some of the most important
memorials and cemeteries, including Tyne Cot and Essex Farm
where John Macrae was inspired to write his famous poem In
Flanders Fields. The students also were able to
experience trench life as they visited Sanctuary Wood, preserved
World War One trenches which were appropriately muddy and wet
due to the week's adverse weather. Dilston Road parking Would parents please park considerately when bringing students to and from school. We have again had complaints from Dilston Road residents when their driveways are blocked. Lost property The main office is becoming increasingly cluttered with coats, PE kits, trainers, school shoes, etc. With over 1400 students in the school, those items not named cannot be returned to their owner and we do not have the room to store them. Any unnamed items not claimed within a few weeks will be disposed of. Please remind your students to take care of their belongings. Kakamega Kenya At the moment the RUSH project is funding six young people to train to be tailors. Their training will be completed by May 2005 and at that point I would like to be in a position to provide each of them with a sewing machine - either hand operated or electric. If anyone has a sewing machine that is not being used, that they would be willing to donate, please ring me on 01372 814431 and I will arrange for collection. This year we are also intending to collect as much LEGO ' as possible and take this out next July for the children in the primary school. All donations of LEGO most gratefully received. Many thanks for all support and good wishes received this year. Liz Noble DATES FOR THE DIARY |